- Princess Diana wore a little black dress in 1994 that is still talked about today.
- The sleek number from Christina Stambolian is called her "revenge dress."
Elizabeth Debicki was asked one thing when the world learned she was playing Princess Diana. Would she get to wear the revenge dress?
In 1994, Princess Diana wore a black off-the-shoulder bodycon dress designed by Christina Stambolian to an event at London's Serpentine Gallery. On the same evening, Prince Charles (now King Charles III) admitted he was unfaithful to her following their marriage becoming "irretrievably broken."
It is commonly referred to as her "revenge dress," as Diana knew the moment would be heavily photographed and potentially seen by her former husband. The dress has become the subject of countless memes, and TikTok analyses.
"It fascinated me how entranced people were with that dress," the Australian actor told Entertainment Weekly.
Debicki's inbox was filled with people congratulating her on the gig — and questioning if she would get to recreate the famous fashion moment. She said she received "a huge amount of text messages about the revenge dress."
Debicki's fascination with the dress soon turned into respect. She found the version of the garment she wore "very significant and quite powerful.""It provoked something in me as an actor," she continued. "I can't really explain it. It's pretty incredible that a dress would represent a moment in history, or that this human's life would represent so much and become so iconic. So that was a big day on set for me!"
Debicki praised Amy Roberts, the costume designer, and Sidonie Roberts, head buyer for "The Crown" for their talents.
"They are incredible and we hit it off really beautifully as people and as collaborators," said Debicki. The pair opted to go for looks that were similar to, but not exact replicas of, her innovative style.
"It's not really about a recreation. We were really interested in delving into the essence of what made the wardrobe so iconic, why so it was groundbreaking in many ways," Debicki added.
"The Crown" season five premieres on Netflix on November 9.